Newcastle United has announced that it will enter a “decision stage” for its stadium development plans in early 2025.
The club discussed its stadium plans during a Fan Advisory Board (FAB) meeting this week, with chief operating officer Brad Miller offering an in-depth update on the feasibility work taking place.
Newcastle has engaged CAA ICON to conduct a feasibility study of St. James’ Park, with the strategic management consulting firm commencing work by administering and running a fan survey gauging opinion on the club’s future stadium options.
Newcastle revealed today (Thursday) that the study has now entered a “crucial second phase”, with more detailed analysis currently taking place to investigate project-related risks and opportunities before a “decision stage” commences in early 2025.
Earlier this week, The Telegraph reported that Newcastle could face a bill of between £800m (€952m/$1bn) and £1bn should it choose to remain at a redeveloped St. James’ Park. The report claimed that detailed architectural plans for the expansion of the stadium have been drawn up and studied by the club.
The plans reportedly centre on the expansion and redevelopment of both the East Stand and Gallowgate End, which would increase the stadium’s capacity from around 52,000 to more than 60,000.
In a statement released today, Newcastle did not reveal any specific details of what a stadium expansion might entail, with the club’s plans set to be firmed up early next year.
Miller said: “This is an exciting but extremely complex project, and I’d like to thank supporters for their patience as we conduct this key phase of the feasibility process. We aren’t quite at a decision-making stage yet, but we are targeting the early part of 2025 to complete the next essential tasks.
“We know what a transformed St. James’ Park would give us and we now have a significant amount of data and feedback on our stadium footprint and surrounding area, so we are several steps forward. But it is also clear that this option has several risks associated with it, so we need to fully analyse those risks against the opportunities to reach truly informed and intelligent outcomes.
“We are challenging our appointed design team, and ourselves, to make sure our eventual chosen route delivers a fantastic fan experience – one that represents the fans, city, region and club, and aligns with the long-term ambitions of our ownership group. But it must provide an investable return, and not least deliver strong revenue growth to increase our PSR headroom, which, as everyone knows, means we can invest more in football.”
St. James’ Park is among the bigger stadiums in the Premier League, but expansion has been restricted by its proximity to residential areas. Since Newcastle was bought by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in October 2021, expansion and improvement of the stadium has been viewed as a key priority.
The club has undertaken improvement works at St. James’ Park since the takeover, with a new fan zone opening next to the stadium ahead of the start of the 2024-25 season.
St. James’ Park is due to be a host venue at UEFA Euro 2028 but this could be at risk depending on Newcastle’s plans to expand the stadium.
Miller, who described the project as a “once-in-a-generation” investment, added: “Our objective is to select a scheme that is deliverable, affordable, and sustainable, so we are investing this time to make sure we are only going to spend money on the project where it will make the biggest difference – to fan experience, revenue, competitiveness, investment in football and operational efficiency. All this requires a robust process that leaves no stone unturned.”
